Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) What Is Green Building (GB)?: Energy; Water; Materials; Waste; Health; Siting; Serviceability; Disaster Resistance; Integration: Balance Among Elements; Balance Across Stages; Interdependence; Leadership in Energy and Environ. Design (LEED); Other Systems: Performance; Cost; Measurement; Market Penetration; Approach; (3) Legislative and Policy Framework; Energy Policy Act of 1992, and 2005; Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; ARRA of 2009; Executive Order 13423, and 13514; (4) Programs and Activities of Selected Fed. Agencies; GSA; DoE; EPA; Office of the Fed. Environ. Exec.; NIST; HUD; (7) Issues for Congress: Oversight; Adoption and Implementation of GB. Charts and tables.

Green Healthcare Institutions : Health, Environment, and Economics, Workshop Summary is based on the ninth workshop in a series of workshops sponsored by the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine since the roundtable began meeting in 1998. When choosing workshops and activities, the roundtable looks for areas of mutual concern and also areas that need further research to develop a strong environmental science background. This workshop focused on the environmental and health impacts related to the design, construction, and operations of healthcare facilities, which are part of one of the largest service industries in the United States. Healthcare institutions are major employers with a considerable role in the community, and it is important to analyze this significant industry. The environment of healthcare facilities is unique; it has multiple stakeholders on both sides, as the givers and the receivers of care. In order to provide optimal care, more research is needed to determine the impacts of the built environment on human health. The scientific evidence for embarking on a green building agenda is not complete, and at present, scientists have limited information. Green Healthcare Institutions : Health, Environment, and Economics, Workshop Summary captures the discussions and presentations by the speakers and participants; they identified the areas in which additional research is needed, the processes by which change can occur, and the gaps in knowledge.

This UFC provides guidance for Department of Defense facilities to achieve high performance and sustainable building requirements in compliance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, EO 13423, EO 13514, and the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings (Guiding Principles).

“Green” buildings—buildings that use fewer resources to build and to sustain—are commonly thought to be too expensive to attract builders and buyers. But are they? The answer to this question has enormous consequences, since residential and commercial buildings together account for nearly 50% of American energy consumption—including at least 75% of electricity usage—according to recent government statistics. This eye-opening book reports the results of a large-scale study based on extensive financial and technical analyses of more than 150 green buildings in the U.S. and ten other countries. It provides detailed findings on the costs and financial benefits of building green. According to the study, green buildings cost roughly 2% more to build than conventional buildings—far less than previously assumed—and provide a wide range of financial, health and social benefits. In addition, green buildings reduce energy use by an average of 33%, resulting in significant cost savings. Greening Our Built World also evaluates the cost effectiveness of “green community development” and presents the results of the first-ever survey of green buildings constructed by faith-based organizations. Throughout the book, leading practitioners in green design—including architects, developers, and property owners—share their own experiences in building green. A compelling combination of rock-solid facts and specific examples, this book proves that green design is both cost-effective and earth-friendly.

Successful interaction with products, tools and technologies depends on usable designs and accommodating the needs of potential users without requiring costly training. In this context, this book is concerned with emerging ergonomics in design concepts, theories and applications of human factors knowledge focusing on the discovery, design and understanding of human interaction and usability issues with products and systems for their improvement. This book will be of special value to a large variety of professionals, researchers and students in the broad field of human modeling and performance who are interested in feedback of devices’ interfaces (visual and haptic), user-centered design, and design for special populations, particularly the elderly. We hope this book is informative, but even more - that it is thought provoking. We hope it inspires, leading the reader to contemplate other questions, applications, and potential solutions in creating good designs for all.

This book explores the theoretical background and provides an experimental analysis of using natural energy resources in sustainable building design. It brings together an international group of contributors focusing on ways natural energy, lighting, and ventilation can improve the performance of electrical, lighting, and mechanical systems. Contributions explore how natural resources can contribute to sustainable development goals while meeting energy demands and maintaining acceptable interior air quality and natural illumination needs. Coverage includes green building design, renewable energy integration, photovoltaic systems, small-scale wind turbines, natural lighting, and natural ventilation. Natural Energy, Lighting, and Ventilation in Sustainable Buildings offers practical and promising solutions for novel challenges in sustainable design for electrical engineers, energy engineers, architectural engineers, and related professionals, as well as researchers and developers from engineering science.

Currently people deal with various entities (such as hardware, software, buildings, spaces, communities and other people), to meet specific goals while going about their everyday activities in work and leisure environments. These entities have become more and more complex and incorporate functions that hitherto had never been allocated such as automation, use in virtual environments, connectivity, personalization, mobility and friendliness. This book contributes to the analysis of human-system interactions from the perspective of ergonomics, regardless of how simple or complex they are, while incorporating the needs of users and workers in a healthy safe, efficient and enjoyable manner. This book provides a comprehensive review of the state of the art of current ergonomic in design methods and techniques that are being applied to products, machinery, equipment, workstations and systems while taking new technologies and their applications into consideration. Ergonomics in Design: Methods and Techniques is organized into four sections and 30 chapters covering topics such as conceptual aspects of ergonomics in design, the knowledge of human characteristics applied to design, and the methodological aspects of design. Examples are shown in several areas of design including, but not limited to, consumer products, games, transport, education, architecture, fashion, sustainability, biomechanics, intelligent systems, virtual reality, and neurodesign. This book will: Introduces the newest developments in social-cultural approaches Shows different ergonomics in design methodological approaches Divulges the ways that ergonomics can contribute to a successful design Applies different subjects to support the design including –ergonomics, engineering, architecture, urbanism, neuro, and product designs. Presents recent technologies in ergonomic design, as applied to product design. With the contributions from a team of 75 researchers from 11 countries, the book covers the state-of-the-art of ergonomics in a way to produce better design.